Freedom through Painting Friday

01/30/2017

Right now, I am grabbing for the feelings of hope, connection, love, support, and understanding.

There's a lot happening right now in the world, and my personal life, too. I see parallels. I see how staying connected to something greater than myself can keep me shining my light.

My soul is here for the purpose of inspiring people to express their inner creativity. For me, this is process over product. What matters to me, is being in the moment. Releasing stress and worry. Playing and bringing in the feelings of joy, connection, and freedom to choose.

If you are interested, I have some online offerings, as well as in person classes I am teaching in the Twin Cities area. Feel free to join in! I'd love to have you! Come as you are, with all of your fears and worries. We will play and have fun. This is self-care. Creativity is good for you. It boosts your immune system.

I want you to know that you are loved. You have the right to feel how you feel. Name your feelings. Acknowledge them. Take a deep breath, and try to remain centered and grounded, if at all possible. You are loved, as you are.

01/13/2017

Thank you for visiting OrangeSpiralArts.com, my site where I intend to spark your inner creativity, by sharing my own creative process.

Today is an exciting day for me, as it is the launch of my third online class created for Orange Spiral Arts.

My first online class is Vision Board the E-Course. This is a 5 day class, designed to be taken anytime you wish to gain clarity around your life vision. In it I share four different ways to make a vision board. There are writing exercises, and other bits of inspiration. It is now a self-paced class with 7 videos, a Photoshop Elements Tutorial, a free printable, and unlimited access.

Here's my 2017 Vision Board:

My second online class is the Beautiful BEing Program. This is a 5 month program where you dive into free writing and spontaneous painting as a way of tapping into your intuition. This one-of-a-kind program is designed to take you on a journey to reach the wisdom within you! You are truly a WISE, GORGEOUS, BEAUTIFUL BEing! Now as a self-paced class, you can work through the course material when it's convenient for you, and you have unlimited access.

Isn't that color simply luscious? I adore color, and inks and oil pastels have such vibrancy! Read on for more information.

Today, is the opening of Ink and Oil Pastel. This is the first in a series of classes I am offering in January-March 2017. Each class is only $20 USD, and there's a package deal if you buy the class set. (Scroll down to see the class set deal and SAVE $10). All classes have unlimited access, so you can watch anytime, as many times as you wish!

So far for Ink and Oil Pastel, I have created 19 videos, and I am still working on more! The videos are short bursts of information and inspiration, so even busy people have a chance to dive in and explore the wonders of inks and oil pastels! Trust me, you'll definitely be getting your money's worth, and more!

I hope you'll join in the fun! I understand "creativity takes courage," as Henri Matisse once said. We can be brave together. You can do this!

What I also know is that creative expression is healthy for your whole being. Your heart rate slows, you build up your immunity, and you are in the present moment while playing with art materials. Come and play! Allow yourself a little joy, fun, and creative time.

The beauty of the Orange Spiral Arts online classes is that you can access them over and over, because I give you unlimited access. (You just have to keep your login details in a safe place).

And it's also really fun to start a class at the same time as other people, so you can be inspired by student work, and support one another in the class.

So, if you feel called, I'd love for you to join us in Ink and Oil Pastel, or the Winter Class Set is even a better bargain! It's not too late to sign up! We'd love to have you!

01/09/2017

I have been quite busy planning and preparing for a number of teaching opportunities that are happening online and in-person in January-May 2017. (There will be more later this year, too.)

I am happiest when there is paint on my hands, clothes, and table top, so that is why I get up early every morning to do the creative work that lights me up.

My mission is to inspire you to get in touch with your creative self, too. Taking a class is one of the easiest ways to make this needed time for yourself actually happen. I have heard countless reports from students saying they really want to do more art exploration on their own at home, but they just haven't done it yet. Soooooo, here are some in-person options:

I am teaching a series of creativity classes in the "Yes, You Are An Artist" series at the Green Lotus Yoga & Healing Center in Eden Prairie, MN. The best way to register for these classes is to call them-see the number in the photo below. That way, you can save money with your pre-registration. The next in the series is on Saturday, January 21st, 1pm-3pm-Multi-Media Heart Art. (More information coming soon, but it's going to be like this class I taught in 2015.)

I hope you will spend some time playing with art supplies, just for the sake of being in the present moment and creating!! Why? Because it's proven to be physically good for you, it's fun, and you are actively learning as you move your hands. You and your creativity matter!

Blessings and Peace,

Briana

PS I received such a lovely testimonial today, that I think it'd be best if I shared it with you here:

"Briana teaches art classes I've taken locally and I've completely fallen for her open, peaceful style of providing art experiences where inner-experience, infiltration, and self-discovery truly come to play. It's process rather than product, no experience needed, and a whole lot of fun!

Here is an art piece from an upcoming Ink and Oil class she's offering for just $20, that'll be ONLINE so you can do it comfortably from home on your own time. Chilly day project time and heartfelt medicine for winter blues." -Krista S.

12/23/2016

Thank you for reading this post via email or by visiting my blog at OrangeSpiralArts.com

I am so happy you are here.

Despite having had a migraine for most of the week, I did manage to get some art time in. Would you like to see what I made? I would be more than pleased to show you.

As you may know, I am participating in #carvedecember again this year. The art challenge is by Julie Fei-Fan Balzer, and the idea is to carve a stamp per day in the month of December. So far, I have stayed on track, and am feeling pretty proud of that fact!

On Monday night, I attended the monthly meeting for the Visual Journal Collective at the Minnesota Center for the Book Arts. It was a small group, but we enjoyed chatting, looking at each other's journals, and creating together. Here are two pages I worked on.

After January 2017, TJ and I will be taking over as co-facilitators of the Visual Journal Collective. We already had a planning meeting, and we are really excited for 2017! The Visual Journal Collective meetings are free and open to people interested in making and keeping visual journals! We meet on the third Monday of every month, usually 7pm-9pm. For more information, request to join the MCBA Visual Journal Collective Facebook group here. I would like to express my gratitude to both Roz Stendahl and Suzanne Hughes for their years of service and dedication to the Visual Journal Collective. Thank you, thank you! I love this group!

11/09/2016

I want to share how inspiration led me to painting and expressing myself in my art journal this morning, after hearing who won the United States Presidential Election. I am grateful to Hali Karla for sharing a flip through her art journal. You can see it for yourself right here.

After watching Hali's video, something, like life force energy was moving inside of me. I heard the message to go paint in my art journal. Move paint and color around before going to the computer. Put on some music and paint.

So, that's what I did. You will see Hali's artistic style influenced my pages.

I did not go digging for supplies. I simply used what was right in front of me. One thing I had within reach was a bottle of ink and a nib holder with a nib already attached. (For more information on nibs and nib holders, here's a great article on Jetpens.com)

I took a photo of my pages and realized there was one more important thing I wanted to add-Love. Love Above Fear.

08/12/2016

Howdy Ya'll! Thanks so much for stopping by OrangeSpiralArts.com or for opening this email post.

I would like to thank Connie Solera and Natasha Reilly for helping me get my act together for my Friday blog posts. Connie and Natasha are now on Episode 3 of the Friday #artjournaljam, of which I am having a blast with!

Today, Connie makes some really exciting announcements during the video. There's also a clip in the video that gave me a really good laugh that I totally needed today! So, without further ado, I will post the photos of the artful journal pages I created while listening to Episode 3 of Art Journal Jam.

I also played with a Catalyst mini blade size 04 by Princeton. Visit Princetonbrush.com for more information on their fabulous and fun painting tools!

There's always a bit of wisdom that comes from listening to #ArtJournalJam episodes. Today, I gathered this: Plant prayers within the walls.

I still had paint on my palette, and Connie and Natasha were still talking, so . . . I made more art journal pages full of color!

Just in case you haven't tried it, or haven't tried it as an adult, scribbling with paint feels really, really good!

I played around with mixing colors on the page below. I am really loving the lime green that I made with the Artist's Loft green and the Blick matte acrylic Yellow Bright color. I also drew into the wet paint with the end of my brush to create the circles and spirals. You know me, I've got to have those spirals!

Last but not least, as I swooped my finger into the very last drops of paint in my palette wells, I created this orange and dotted page below.

May your days be filled with love. May your days be filled with color. May your heart return to joy. May your life feel free and peaceful.

08/05/2016

I can't tell you how thrilled I am about the Art Journal Jam with Connie Solera and Natasha Reilly over at Dirtyfootprints-Studio.com

If you've been here on my blog for awhile, you may have noticed that the Freedom through Painting Friday posts have not been all that consistent. Honestly, I think I kind of needed a buddy. Now I have two! Connie and Natasha.

The pictures below are a few stepped out photos of how my art journal page spread developed, as well as the story behind the art.

I started by preparing a palette with ten colors of tempera paint. I grabbed my art journal, a few paintbrushes, and some paper towels. I was working in my office where my computer lives, so I decided not to use water, and just wiped my paintbrush off between colors.

I simply chose a color, and put paint to paper, while I listened to the new Art Journal Jam with Connie and Natasha. Their conversation and encouragement to paint in my journal was just the inspiration I needed this morning.

I love working in this intuitive manner because I enter into that "non-thinking" state of consciousness. I am just doing, playing, reacting to the previous marks, and following what feels good.

What wanted to be expressed is a story from an experience I had yesterday while at a local playground with my son.

Here's the story:

Yesterday I was at the park with my son. At first we were the only ones there. Then a father who was pushing his son on a tricycle started to head our way. As they got closer, I gave them a wave to show that we are safe and friendly. My son and this boy came together over sharing the tricycle. They took turns, used their words, and said "thank you." It was such a nice exchange and interaction to observe. I learned that the man is from Liberia, but now lives in the UK. I learned that his home language is Dan. I truly enjoy learning about diverse cultures. I feel grateful when people are willing to open up a little and share something about their culture, such as the various languages they speak.

After I finished this page spread, I wanted to also make a page about something that was said in the "Art Journal Jam" session that made us all laugh. Natasha said, "In it to win it." My interpretation of what she means by this phrase, is that she and Connie once again were talking, connecting, and sharing stories about their lives. They were going deep, being real, and listening to one another.

There are few things in life that I enjoy more than "going deep" in conversation with another soul, or small group of people. So, "I'm in it to win it!" How about you?

I want to say thank you for showing up here today, whether it's because you have subscribed to receive Art Inspiration to your Inbox, or you somehow landed on my site OrangeSpiralArts.com another way.

A FREE Monthly Meeting for Visual and Art Journal Keepers in the Twin Cities. Click button above for more information.

Astrology and Art-2017-A Year Long Program with Hali Karla

You and Your Creativity Matter

Vision Board the E-Course:: A Powerful Way to Gain Clarity and Manifest the Life You Want to Live -OPEN for REGISTRATION-FOREVER ONLINE ACCESS at one affordable price!!

At your core, you are a Beautiful BEing, full of love and light. This online e-course offers writing and expressive painting prompts to assist you in reconnecting to your true essence. Registration is ALWAYS OPEN. To find out more, click the image above. There is a Pay-What-You-Can option available.